Monthly Archives: October 2013

Linked In

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I wanted to share with you some of my favourite links that I’ve come across on the Internet in the last week:

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1. What makes a home happy? Hint: It’s not designer furniture or immaculate carpets… (Thehappiesthome.com)

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2. I’ve discovered a great website for furniture and home inspiration: Nest.co.uk I want this chair for the desk in my bedroom.

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3. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Read this article to find out. I think I’m a sociable introvert (if there is such a thing?) who prefers one-to-ones and smaller groups. I get quite shy at larger gatherings and absolutely loathe networking.

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4. Emails and texts are great but sometimes only proper stationery will do and you can’t go wrong with classic Smythson of Bond Street.

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5. Check out the best new nail polishes for Fall. Which one is your favourite?

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6.Halloween is fast approaching and I can’t wait to get our box of decorations and costumes down from the loft. Here are some great tips for decorating your house.

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7. Turn your Instagram photos into fridge magnets at Stickygram. They cost $14.99 per sheet of 9 and shipping is free worldwide. I just ordered two sheets today so will let you know what I think when they arrive.

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8. If, like me, you struggle to keep on top of all the clutter that mysteriously accumulates in the house, Oprah’s ‘organizational guru’ Peter Walsh has some very useful strategies to get you on the right track.

This Week’s Favourites

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Where has the time gone? It seems like it was only yesterday that I wrote my last ‘Favourites’ post and now it’s Sunday again. Looking back at the photos I can see that even though the week flew by, as usual we managed to squeeze quite a lot in.

1. Because of the building work going on at home, the house was covered in dust at the start of the week so Clemmie and I escaped to a nearby village for brunch. I had Eggs Benedict, one of my all-time favourites.

2. We have finally chosen the tiles to go around the sink in the new downstairs cloakroom. Fingers crossed, it should all be finished by the end of this week in time for my husband’s birthday party on Saturday. I will of course share pictures when it’s all done.

3. I also managed to plant some herbs in two of the pots I bought in Sweden this summer. They were a bargain at less than £10 for three and I love the chalkboard labels on them.

4. I went to two exercise classes this week and decided to reward myself (and my aching muscles) with some new workout clothes from Sweaty Betty.

5. I also bought an early birthday present for myself from Space NK – I just can’t go into that store without buying something!

6. The highlight of the week was without a doubt my birthday on Wednesday and a meal out at Jamie’s Italian to celebrate with my husband and kids.

7. Like mother like daughter. Clemmie seems to have inherited my love of magazines and pesters me to buy one every time we go shopping. This one certainly lives up to is name: I think it has got every shade of pink imaginable on the cover.

8. I made a very exciting discovery this week: they sell Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks in the UK! I don’t know how I could have missed it although in my defence the barista did say they’re new for this autumn. So yummy, especially with whipped cream on top!

9. My husband went away for a golf weekend on Friday so I’ve been on my own with the kids all weekend. I really take my hat off to all the single mums out there, it is bloody hard work! Saturday was spent ferrying them around to various activities (football, swimming, tutor) and then a friend whose husband was also away came over with her kids in the evening. The children had pizza and shared some of my birthday chocolates while watching a movie (although I think Clemmie managed to get more chocolate on her than in her!) and we had Thai takeaway and a glass of wine or two.

Now I’m just waiting for my other half to walk through the front door so I can take a hot bath and then curl up in front of the TV to watch the third series of Homeland. Unfortunately the week has not ended on a good note as someone close to me was admitted to hospital today. Hopefully, it won’t be for long and we’re all doing our best to stay positive.

Hope you’ve all had a great weekend. X

Weekend Photo Challenge: OOTD for Mummy and Child

Posted in Family Life, Fashion by

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The boys were not keen to participate in today’s challenge so here’s another picture of Clemmie (in Zara waistcoat, H&M skirt and shoes which my friend bought for her in New York). I will get them next week when the theme is sleeping, no escaping then!

And because she asked so nicely, here is a picture of me in my new Yoga tops especially for Eszer. My eldest son asked me to also mention that he took the picture 🙂

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday. X

PS. I think the challenge is really meant to be for the Saturday but it’s such a busy day for us that I usually struggle to post anything, let alone take any photos. So I’m always a day late!

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Fall To-Do List

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Fall To-Do List

As most you have probably gathered, Fall is my favourite season. I’ve already written a post on my Autumn Resolutions and another on Ten Reasons to Fall in Love with Fall, but I couldn’t resist one more focusing on the things I want to do in the next couple of months. Now is the perfect time to start new projects, or perhaps pick up on existing ones which fell by the wayside over the summer, and also to carve out a bit of me-time before the Christmas rush begins.

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1. Start taking more pictures with the Nikon DSLR camera I got for my birthday last year (especially as one of my birthday presents this year was a new lens). I’m still getting to grips with it, and often I forget to take it with me or decide it’s too bulky to lug around, so I end up using my phone but the picture quality is so much better with the Nikon.

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2. Make these cookies. Spiced apple cider instant drink mix is not readily available here in the UK but I found some on eBay.

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3. Go to the ballet. As a child I used to love going to see the Nutcracker around Christmas time and my husband has promised to take me this year.

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4. Host a Halloween party for family and friends. After Christmas and their birthdays, it’s the event that the kids most look forward to. Obviously they love all the candy but also the costumes, decorating the house and, of course, the pumpkin carving.

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5. Go away for a weekend with a friend, ideally to Babington House which is the perfect getaway for pampering treatments, delicious food and cocktails (their pear bellini is to-die-for)

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6. Learn how to cook a roast dinner.

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7. Finish off my photo wall. I have bought all the frames and chosen the pictures so all that remains is printing the photos and putting them up on the wall.

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8. Start at least one morning on the weekend with a long walk and take a moment to appreciate the stunning scenery right on my doorstep.

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9. Wear something other than jeans on at least one day a week. I wear lots of dresses and skirts in the summer but as soon as the temperature drops I practically live in my skinnies. The imitation leather skirt I ordered from H&M has finally arrived so I’m hoping that will inspire me to get out of the denim rut.

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10. Make scrapbooks for the boys of their best pieces of artwork, school and sports certificates. I have keepsake boxes and baby books for each of my children but I think that putting papers into a scrapbook is a better way of preserving them.

Happy Birthday to Me!

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{In our house birthdays mean breakfast in bed, even for mummy!}

It’s my birthday today (yay! happy birthday to me!). I still get ridiculously excited about birthdays and even if I don’t exactly whoop with joy at the thought of new wrinkles appearing, I don’t actually mind getting older (hey, it beats the alternative, right?) and hopefully wiser. My friend Angela over at Read,Sugar wrote a great post on why we should all embrace our birthdays, no matter what age we are (read it here).

These days, birthdays are less about the presents (although there were plenty of those as well, including a new lens for my Nikon camera, this perfume, some more Mateus china for my collection and new yoga clothes) and more about the children piling into bed singing happy birthday and covering me with kisses. (Before devouring my cupcakes and getting crumbs all over the bed, but I can overlook small stuff like that on my birthday 🙂 )

It’s been a busy day so far, starting with a gym class followed by coffee with friends and then a quick trip to the tile shop as the building work to repair the damage caused by a leaking pipe is finally underway. This evening we’re going out for dinner as a family to celebrate a little bit more. Now the sun’s out and it’s shaping up to be a beautiful Autumn day and a great birthday! X

My Latest TV Addiction

Posted in Family Life, Food & Recipes by

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My husband and I often have wildly different tastes in TV programmes. I like glamour and drama, with a healthy bit of cheese thrown in (think Revenge, Gossip Girl – RIP, I still miss Chuck & Blair – and Made in Chelsea) while he prefers sport, Top Gear or worthy documentaries, which I think I should watch to boost my intellect but just find sooo boring. But now and again our tastes do overlap – we were both avid followers of Homeland (starts again on Sunday, yay!) The Bridge, Borgen and The Americans, to name but a few.

Most recently, it’s TV chef extraordinaire Jamie Oliver’s (is he ever off the telly?) latest series Save with Jamie that has caught our attention. Neither of us is usually that enamored with cookery shows but we both like the idea of roasting a big joint of meat or grilling a side of salmon for a family Sunday lunch and then eeking it out to make another two or three meals during the week. Last Sunday we had roast chicken with all the trimmings and then boiled the carcass to make chicken stock which, together with the leftover meat, was turned into a stew that lasted us two days.

Of course I realise that there is certain irony in a multi-millionaire chef showing us mere mortals how to cut down on our food spend, but if it saves us money and makes meal planning that bit easier then I’m all for it. And say what you will about the ‘Naked Chef’, he is a national institution and you do get the feeling that he does really care about the eating habits of the nation, even if he is laughing all the way to the bank.

Find the chicken stew recipe here